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Radical Acceptance: Body Image [VIDEO]

Radical acceptance. What is it? How do we radically accept ourselves? Hint: We start with our bodies.

We spend hours in the mirror scrutinizing every fold, line, and wrinkle. All the curves and bulges that are in the wrong place, and the places where we think they’re missing. Criticizing every area of our bodies, all the clothes that don’t fit perfectly and drape our bodies in just the right way. Which by the way, even the mannequins in the shop windows which we perceive to have perfect or ideal shapes, in reality are human shaped pin cushions. What isn’t visible is the dozens of pins pulling and tightening fabric for the ideal fit, on what could already be considered an ideal figure.

Of course when we scrutinize our bodies, our light diminishes through moments of self loathing. How could we not? The infinite amounts of diets and workout regimes, each with their promises.

Now for the record, I want to say that not all desire for change is bad. Wanting to lose weight to have more energy or improve our health are great things. Like everything the motivation will fuel our intentions. The desire for change, when rooted in our self-loathing, will only create more of the same.

Acceptance… radical acceptance. It will fuel our intentions and desires to create more beauty and light, and it’ll hold us on the days where a few breaths in down dog are the most we can muster.

We accept our body, all of it. The tight and toned areas, and the curves and jiggly bits too. We thank it for carrying us this far. For the thousands of meals consumed and digested, both the healthy ones, and the ones that were a little less nutritionally dense.

For all the lifting, pushing, and pulling. For the workouts it powered through, and the healing and mending while we rested.

For functioning on the days when we were in turmoil. The days when our world was spinning and our mind and spirit couldn’t remember how to breath, but our body never missed a beat.

Despite how you want your body to look, or what you think it should look like (which is so subjective and heavily influenced by the media and world around us). We can’t force or beat it into submission. But through radical self acceptance we can start to heal.

Question. All the ridiculous workouts and deprivation, was it because we wanted to change? Or because we felt like we needed to punish our bodies, and ourselves. Because we thought it had failed us, or, did we fail it?

Childbirth, injuries, diagnoses, the endless cycles of weight gain and loss. The stretch marks, the wrinkles and the scar. Love all of it, accept all of it. Each line, each cell tells the magnificent story of who you are.